. >> reporter: it is the brain child of a real life lord and one time actor, julian fellows. >> i don't have the indifference to audience that you do sometimes find among the british. you know, where if you say something is popular, it's an insult. >> reporter: five million viewers tuned in to each episode on pbs, the public tv station. 27 emmy nominations and seven statues over the last two years. unheard of. >> this is really a david and goliath story. >> reporter: as downton fanatics, they are just eating it up. it is now so imbedded in american popular culture, it's spawning parodies. yahoo! brought us downton arby's. >> take my daughter's hand in marriage and it will be yours. >> i just want to grab some extra sauce. >> reporter: "snl" gave it the hyperventilating trailer treatment. >> there's a milf and a dad and they've got three daughters named hot, way hot, and the other one. and they all hang out with this old lady that looks like a chicken. >> reporter: actually, there you have a pretty good plot summary. but why is this show set 100 years ago in a world few of us can relate